The truth is, you can use any supermarket bone-in ham for this recipe, or buy a half ham and cut the recipe accordingly. But considering the holiday occasion, it's worthwhile to get the best cured, smoked, bone-in ham you can find. Special-order one from your butcher or from dartagnan.com (we love their applewood-smoked version).

Agave nectar, a product of the agave plant better known as the source of tequila, blends beautifully with Old World Spanish sherry for a gentle sweet-and-sour glaze and luscious gravy. Because agave nectar has a low glycemic index, it's the new darling of the health-conscious crowd who are trying to lower their sugar intake. Although making the brown turkey stock for the gravy is an extra step, it can be done weeks ahead and frozen, and it's the secret behind a truly memorable gravy.

An almost mystical combination beloved in France, mushrooms and fortified wines like Madeira elevate everything they touch. The results are exceptionally fine when you put their magic to work on great-tasting (and inexpensive) blade steaks.

This recipe is adapted from Audrey Saunders, owner of Pegu Club in New York City. [Crown Roast of Lamb with Rosemary](/recipes/food/views/104492) requires a companion drink with body, and this cocktail has that in spades. Also, like lamb, its flavor is a bit racy.

There are many variations of the classic Dry Martini, and this mix was created in the 1940s for Charles Dana Gibson, a US illustrator, and presumably a ladies' man, too — the two cocktail onions are said to represent the breasts of his female admirers! As far as the mix goes, the onions take the biting edge off the gin and add their own layer of complexity.

Lauren Farber of Wellesley, Massachusetts, writes: "I have eaten twice at Lumière in West Newton, Massachusetts, and each time I have enjoyed the mushroom soup. Can you help me get the recipe?"
A combination of white and porcini mushrooms makes for a full-flavored stock — the key to a soup that's simple and smooth.

Introduced to England at the beginning of the 20th century by the wife of the British viceroy of India, this soup, enhanced with cream and a touch of curry, was soon turning up in dining rooms across Europe.